Haught Checks Into Jail; Work Release Probable

Roy George Haught is in jail and it has not yet been determined if he'll be eligible for work release.

At noon, Wednesday, the Star Valley businessman arrived as ordered at the Payson jail to begin serving the one-year sentence he was given July 12 for his involvement in the 1997 death of Strawberry mechanic James Cooper.

What remains to be seen is if Haught will qualify for work release as requested by the sentencing judge, Douglas R. Holt.

"The paperwork is still being processed," Gila Country Sheriff James Armer said. "We've got some rules and regulations that we'll apply to him like we do to anybody else ... I don't see any reason why he would not be cleared, as long as he agrees to all of the conditions that we set down."

Armer could not say when the final decision would be made.

Haught was sentenced to one year in jail, with credit for 23 days already served, as well as two years of standard probation consecutive to the two-and-a-half years he has already accumulated.